Marge loved to ski. Sometimes she would go skiing with her mother, who was also a really good skier, and Mrs. Nora Dyke. Fairly often she would go skiing by herself or follow me when I went on my snowshoes. When she was not using her skies they would be hanging in the porch . I always thought that skiing was fun, easy to do and I’d like to do it some day.
Well the chance came one day when Marge was gone somewhere for a day shopping or something. The day was perfect, sunny, warm and there was a good crust of frozen snow on the ground. Behind our house I had a fenced garden for my little horse Billy. From the back fence the garden followed a little more than a gentle slope to the woods behind the house. The cross country skies were hanging in the porch. This was my chance to have some easy fun. With skies and poles on my back I trounced off to the back of the garden.
I was very much surprised to find that the skis were not as easy to put on my feet as I thought. They kept sliding away from me. I finally, with arms locked around the fence, got them on.

I took the poles, held myself upright and let go. I was right. It was easy!, for the first ten feet or so. Things soon began to go wrong. I had forgotten that there were several old short juniper trees scattered around the garden, and I didn’t know that I couldn’t fall down even if I tried because I was going to fast. The faster I went the wider apart my feet were getting. The old juniper trees with their dry, sticky, stabby branches were rushing toward me at a very high speed .
I did have time to think of a few Huckleberry Hound cartoons . One where he was being chased by Powerful Pierre and he ended up going over the cliff. The one most clear I my mind now , however , was when he ran face on into an old crooked tree. I saw the tree right in front of me. There he was with all of his spiny branches wanting to grab me . Then, WHAM! The stars, the pain and the blood. Luckily I did fall down. I was forced to , knocked out I suppose. I am sure that I got the quickest but most painful ear piercing ever.
I came to my sences, not dead and walked home . Thank God I was able to laugh when I was telling Marge what had happened.
No more skiing for me, Nothing any faster than snowshoes going on my feet.